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“The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country: The Glass House” – Book Two
Writer: James Tynion IV
Artist: Patricio Delpeche
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Reviewed by Steve J. Ray
The Glass House #2 – Summary
Welcome to The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country: The Glass House #2.
Kelly has met the man of her dreams. They talk all night, he’s gentle understanding, and loves her, despite her scars. The trouble is, Kelly’s dead. Her scars were created by the hundreds of bullets that riddled her body, during the horrific chain of events where her corpse was animated, and she was forced to murder her best friend, Madison Flynn.
Positives
James Tynion is sick, twisted, and terrifying. Great work, sir… keep it up. This is as dark a love story as I could ever dream of and a set of circumstances beyond my wildest imaginings. How does he even think this stuff up? Kelly’s just the sweetest… entity/ghost/spirit and I’m sure the undead deserve love too, right? Of course, when her beau, Max, discovers who she was and what she did; cats, pigeons, cans, and worms will be all over the place.
Kelly’s one of the residents of “The King Of Pain”, a nightclub that links our plane to Hell itself. This is the place where the richest, and those in their employ, can cater to all their most twisted needs and desires… or should that be Desires? Of course, we now know that Agony and Ecstasy, the evil duo who killed Kelly and forced her to kill Madison, were working for Desire of The Endless, one of the younger siblings of Destiny, Death, and Dream.
The other huge twist from the last issue is that the club is seemingly run by the demon Azazel. This blew my mind, as this creature was imprisoned by Dream way back in chapter six of Neil Gaiman’s legendary “Season of Mists” story arc (The Sandman #27, June 1991). How did it escape and regain such a prominent seat of power on Earth? I feel that links to Desire, and the obvious one to The Corinthian mentioned in this issue, will answer at least part of that question.
Again, Simon Bowland’s lettering is exemplary. The conversation between Kelly and Max is a prime example of this, as is the wonderful new style of speech employed by Madison in her new feline form. I love this book!
Negatives
Now, this isn’t really a criticism, just an observation. You may have noticed that there’s one less name listed in the creator credits. That’s right, this issue is both drawn and colored by Patricio Delpeche. It looks great! Yes, the art style’s different from what we’ve become used to from Lisandro Estherren, but the fact that Patricio’s been coloring this series since day one means that the switch is far less jarring than it could’ve been. If anyone should be drawing this story, other than Lisandro, it’s Patricio.
Of course, I’m the kind of person who prefers the one tale/one artist formula, as a change in art styles can sometimes take a reader out of the story. Thankfully, while Patricio’s art is different from Lisandro’s, it works and flows, thanks to the fact that he knows what this series has, does, and should look like. Great work.
Verdict
Nightmare Country: The Glass House #2 is scary, deep, emotional, and an amazing work of horror fiction. I highly recommend this series and its companion titles, Nightmare Country Vol. One, and Dead Boy Detectives, to all fans of the genre.
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment
